Going too large with Pulp Alley (don't try at home!)[photos added]

[warrenpeace]

[edit: Sinewgrab kindly added some photos in the 2nd post, and I added a link to photos on facebook.]

Debated describing this experience here due to lack of photos. Other people took some photos which were posted on facebook in the Northwest Historical Miniatures Gaming group and the in the facebook Pulp Gaming group. But decided to share the text anyway. LAF is mostly about the photos (to me), so sorry about that shortcoming in this post. (I really need to get a camera and new computer to handle photos.)

About 3 months ago I was looking around the log cabin that I share with another miniature wargamer and spotted enough terrain and figures to make a nice sort of African safari game in which each of 4 national players would control about a dozen characters and soldiers, along with a half dozen bearers, while another 2 players would play hostile natives and animals. Playing surface was to be 4.5 feet by 6 feet (roughly 1.5 meter by 2 meter). This game was to be played at Enfilade, the regional miniatures convention for the Pacific Northwest part of North America, which took place last weekend.

Unfortunately, I was not to happy with the skirmish rules that I was planning to use. So I took the risky decision to convert the game to Pulp Alley, a set of rules that I was planning to try out, switching to 2 players for each of 4 national factions, with the GM running the animals and natives. I say risky because Pulp Alley is really designed for a 3 feet by 3 feet playing surface, and 2 to 4 players. Clearly I was on too big a table, with too many players.

Tried it anyway. Got two complete card decks with many supplements to avoid running out of cards, and put the two card decks one at each end of the long table. The scenario was set on a hostile island in the Indian Ocean not far from Africa, so there were plenty of hostile and dangerous African animals and natives. There were two Khmer type temples (aquarium pieces) in the center, which were the objectives of the expedition (major plot points with a pile of reward cards at stake). The temples needed to be explored. Rivers needed to be crossed to get to the temples, so there was a ford for the Germans, a slippery moss covered log (aquarium piece) over the river for the Americans, and two rope bridges for the British and French. All those crossings were perilous, along with the slopes and cliff leading to the level of the big temples.

There was also a huge crocodile skull (aquarium piece) to give the table a spooky atmosphere. The table was loaded with jungle and some hills, all built by my housemate Jeff. Minor plot points were at piles of bones or pottery, at little native huts in the jungle, and at the abandoned camp of the previous expedition that had first tried to explore the island. Each national group of two leagues had two minor plot points on their path to the big temples.

The idea was not so much to have the different national teams fight each other, but to gain experience with the Pulp Alley system by fighting the hostile animals and natives and playing perils on each other before running into Terrors at the big temples, where the leagues would have to cooperate. This actually worked the way I wanted it too.

For the playtest game a couple of weeks before the convention I had 6 characters per player league, dropped the idea of using native bearers, and attacked each national group with 2 animals (the crocodile attack was from a crocodile gang), 2 gangs of native spears, and 1 gang of native bows (5 figures each). That all proved to be too much action for the amount of time we had, and none of the groups got near the big temples. Still it was a lot of fun. The highlight of the playtest game was the British bulldog Winston finishing off a wounded big python, knocking out 4 native spearmen, climbing a cliff, and achieving the second minor plot point for the British leagues. Go Winston!

For the convention game I reduced the number of figures in each league to 4, attacked each national faction with only two animals (one was still a crocodile gang) from ambush, and had native spear gangs come on later to follow the leagues in a menacing way rather than having them ambush the leagues. I left out the bows. I also eliminated one of the Terrors because I figured that was too much. I also got a second GM to run half the table until the leagues met in the area of the big temples. I also moved all the national factions 14 inches onto the table to start.

Those modifications allowed the players in the convention game to get used to the system via the animal ambushes and dealing with the perils and minor plot points and still have time to reach the big temple to tangle with the Terrors. This did happen within about three hours. However, one young player who was not quite 12 years old wandered off about that point. Also one of the adult players decided to leave to drive home (it was Sunday, the last day of a three day convention). And to top that off my second GM had to take an emergency call for a situation involving one of his clients back home and didn't make it back to the table. Fortunately another experienced player (our very own Sinewgrab) was at that end of the table and kept things moving until the action merged in the center of the table.

At the point of merging all the action of 8 leagues the game did suddenly bog down. Another problem was that I had a 1 inch wide extreme peril area of marshy quicksand in front of the Americans and Germans that got at lot of their characters stuck. (The French and British had an extreme peril cliff, could get hit but still were down the cliff.) The leagues were able to engage in much vicious fighting with a Giant Cobra Terror, and a Giant Python Terror. All the leagues were cooperating to try to defeat those two big monsters at the temples. Numerous characters had taken hits and some were down, but the Giant Python had taken a health drop, and the Giant Cobra had taken two health drops. We were 3 hours and 20 minutes into the game and most of us, including me, were worn out by then, so I called the game. (Never even brought on the Gigantic Crocodile.)

Thanks to Jeff's painting (I only painted 8 of the figures) and terrain building (all but the aquarium terrain pieces were his), the game got selected as "best of period" for that Sunday time slot. So the medal really belongs to Jeff.

The moral of the story is: Don't try to make a Pulp Alley game too large. Sinewgrab is of the opinion that 5 leagues with 5 players is as far as one can push Pulp Alley without it bogging down, and his "Martian Alley" game with 5 leagues worked fantastically well on Saturday night at this same convention (he reported this game in the VSF threads).

For those interested, the leagues and NPC animals and natives that I used in this large game are listed below. [To speakers of French and German, I apologize for not having the proper marks over some letters in the names of the leagues.] I made up the special abilities "big squeeze" for the pythons and "venom" for the cobra (which are not in the Pulp Alley books):

ISLAND OF THE CROCODILE GOD: Gesellschaft fur Erdkunde und Reich’s Museum

GERM, section 1:

Leader: Prof. Otto von Pottsdorf (Animal, Rugged*, Savage**)
Health d10; Brawl 4d10; Shoot 0; Dodge 4d10; Might 3d10; Finesse 2d8; Cunning 3d10
*You may re-roll 1 Health check die per fight when brawling.
**Once per turn, after determining the results of a brawl, if you are still engaged then you may immediately fight the same enemy again (as the attacker). This second fight in the same defense or activation is considered part of the same fight for the multiple combats penalty.

Sidekick: Elke von Pottsdorf (Daredevil*, Marksman)
Health d8; Brawl 3d8; Shoot 4d8; Dodge 3d8; Might 2d6; Finesse 2d6; Cunning 2d6
*Once per turn you receive a +1d bonus when rolling for a Peril.

Sidekick: Feldwebel Steinhauser (Deadeye*, Marksman)
Health d8; Brawl 3d8; Shoot 4d8; Dodge 3d8; Might 2d6; Finesse 2d6; Cunning 2d6
*You are not limited to shooting the closest enemy.

Ally: Askari [in floppy hat] (Marksman)
Health d6; Brawl 1d6; Shoot 3d6; Dodge 2d6; Might 1d6; Finesse 1d6; Cunning 1d6

GERM, section 2:

Leader: Prof. Rudolf Zrimc (Brainy, Inspiring*, Quick-Witted**)
Health d10; Brawl 0; Shoot 3d10; Dodge 4d10; Might 2d8; Finesse 3d10; Cunning 4d10
*Once per turn, one colleague within 12 inches of you gains a +1d bonus for one challenge.
**Once per turn, shift your Might, Finesse, or Cunning dice-type down to gain a +2d bonus to that skill.

Sidekick: Erwin von Pottsdorf (Marksman, Two-Guns*)
Health d8; Brawl 3d8; Shoot 4d8; Dodge 3d8; Might 2d6; Finesse 2d6; Cunning 2d6
*Once per turn, after determining the results of your shooting, if the enemy did not go down, then you may immediately fight the same enemy again (as the attacker). This second fight in the same defense or activation is considered part of the same fight for the multiple combats penalty.

Sidekick: Lothar von Starhemberg (Brainy, Marksman)
Health d8; Brawl 0; Shoot 4d8; Dodge 4d8; Might 2d6; Finesse 2d6; Cunning 4d8

Ally: Askari [in tarbush with neckshade] (Marksman)
Health d6; Brawl 1d6; Shoot 3d6; Dodge 2d6; Might 1d6; Finesse 1d6; Cunning 1d6

///

ISLAND OF THE CROCODILE GOD: Societe Archaeologique de Notre Dame

SAND, section 1:

Leader: Prof. L’Heureux (Brainy, Marksman, Inspiring*)
Health d10; Brawl 0; Shoot 4d10; Dodge 4d10; Might 2d8; Finesse 3d10; Cunning 4d10
*Once per turn, one colleague within 12 inches of you gains a +1d bonus for one challenge.

Sidekick: Amelie Hoa Vinh (Daredevil*, Marksman)
Health d8; Brawl 3d8; Shoot 4d8; Dodge 3d8; Might 2d6; Finesse 2d6; Cunning 2d6
* Once per turn you receive a +1d bonus when rolling for a Peril.

Sidekick: Aminoo [cone hat] (Deadeye*, Marksman)
Health d8; Brawl 3d8; Shoot 4d8; Dodge 3d8; Might 2d6; Finesse 2d6; Cunning 2d6
* You are not limited to shooting the closest enemy.

Ally: Fusilier Coloniale (Fierce)
Health d6; Brawl 3d6; Shoot 1d6; Dodge 2d6; Might 1d6; Finesse 1d6; Cunning 1d6

SAND, section 2:

Leader: Prof. Xavier (Animal, Moxie*, Savage**)
Health d10; Brawl 4d10; Shoot 0; Dodge 4d10; Might 2d8; Finesse 3d10; Cunning 3d10
*You ignore the multiple combats penalty when rolling your Brawl dice.
**Once per turn, after determining the results of a brawl, if you are still engaged then you may immediately fight the same enemy again (as the attacker). This second fight in the same defense or activation is considered part of the same fight for the multiple combats penalty.

Sidekick: Capitaine Jacques (Marksman, Deadeye*)
Health d8; Brawl 3d8; Shoot 4d8; Dodge 3d8; Might 2d6; Finesse 2d6; Cunning 2d6
* You are not limited to shooting the closest enemy.

Sidekick: Rene Fonck (Marksman, Veteran*)
Health d8; Brawl 3d8; Shoot 4d8; Dodge 3d8; Might 2d6; Finesse 2d6; Cunning 2d6
*You ignore the multiple combats penalty when rolling your shoot dice.

Ally: Fusilier Coloniale (Fierce)
Health d6; Brawl 3d6; Shoot 1d6; Dodge 2d6; Might 1d6; Finesse 1d6; Cunning 1d6

///

ISLAND OF THE CROCODILE GOD: Southern Methodist Universities Geographic

SMUG, section 1:

Leader: Prof. “Tennessee” Taylor (Danger Sense*, Rugged**, Untouchable***)
Health d10; Brawl 3d10; Shoot 3d10; Dodge 3d10; Might 2d8; Finesse 2d8; Cunning 3d10
*You automatically pass the first peril you encounter each turn.
**You may re-roll 1 Health check die per fight when brawling.
***You always count as being in cover.

Sidekick: “Sixgun Sally” Ford (Daredevil*, Marksman)
Health d8; Brawl 3d8; Shoot 4d8; Dodge 3d8; Might 2d6; Finesse 2d6; Cunning 2d6
* Once per turn you receive a +1d bonus when rolling for a Peril.

Sidekick: Jeremiah Jackson [cutlass & pistol] (Fierce, Savage*)
Health d8; Brawl 4d8; Shoot 3d8; Dodge 3d8; Might 2d6; Finesse 2d6; Cunning 2d6
*Once per turn, after determining the results of a brawl, if you are still engaged then you may immediately fight the same enemy again (as the attacker). This second fight in the same defense or activation is considered part of the same fight for the multiple combats penalty.

Ally: [blue bandana] (Marksman)
Health d6; Brawl 1d6; Shoot 3d6; Dodge 2d6; Might 1d6; Finesse 1d6; Cunning 1d6

SMUG, section 2:

Leader: Prof. Howell Cobb (Animal, Inspiring*, Reach**)
Health d10; Brawl 4d10; Shoot 0; Dodge 4d10; Might 3d10; Finesse 2d8; Cunning 3d10
*Once per turn, one colleague within 12 inches of you gains a +1d bonus for one challenge.
**You may use your Brawl skill to fight (attack or counter-attack) one enemy within 3”. An enemy my react by brawling, shooting, or dodging this attack.

Sidekick: Andrew “T-Bone” Pickens (Deadeye*, Marksman)
Health d8; Brawl 3d8; Shoot 4d8; Dodge 3d8; Might 2d6; Finesse 2d6; Cunning 2d6
*You are not limited to shooting the closest enemy.

Sidekick: Zooky [floppy hat & rifle] (Marksman, Veteran*)
Health d8; Brawl 3d8; Shoot 4d8; Dodge 3d8; Might 2d6; Finesse 2d6; Cunning 2d6
*You ignore the multiple combats penalty when rolling your shoot dice.

Ally: [red bandana] (Marksman)
Health d6; Brawl 1d6; Shoot 3d6; Dodge 2d6; Might 1d6; Finesse 1d6; Cunning 1d6

///

ISLAND OF THE CROCODILE GOD: British Archaeology and Tea Society

BATS, section 1:

Leader: Prof. Challenger (Animal, Danger Sense*, Inspiring**)
Health d10; Brawl 4d10; Shoot 0; Dodge 4d10; Might 3d10; Finesse 2d8; Cunning 3d10
* You automatically pass the first peril you encounter each turn.
**Once per turn, one colleague within 12 inches of you gains a +1d bonus for one challenge.

Sidekick: Lord John Roxton (Deadeye*, Marksman)
Health d8; Brawl 3d8; Shoot 4d8; Dodge 3d8; Might 2d6; Finesse 2d6; Cunning 2d6
*You are not limited to shooting the closest enemy.

Sidekick: Edwina “Beanie” Malone (Brainy, Deductive*)
Health d8; Brawl 0; Shoot 3d8; Dodge 4d8; Might 2d6; Finesse 2d6; Cunning 4d8
*Action: Draw one Fortune card.

Ally: Sepoy [firing] (Fierce)
Health d6; Brawl 3d6; Shoot 1d6; Dodge 2d6; Might 1d6; Finesse 1d6; Cunning 1d6

BATS, section 2:

Leader: Prof. Summerlee (Extraordinary, Lucky Devil*, Quick-Witted**)
Health d10; Brawl 3d10; Shoot 3d10; Dodge 3d10; Might 2d8; Finesse 2d10; Cunning 3d10
*When you activate, opponents may not play any Fortune card effects. Note, this only applies to effects which indicate: “Play: When an enemy activates.”
**Once per turn, shift your Might, Finesse, or Cunning dice-type down to gain a +2d bonus to that skill.

Sidekick: Winston [bulldog] (Animal, Fierce)
Health d8; Brawl 5d8; Shoot 0; Dodge 4d8; Might 2d6; Finesse 2d6; Cunning 3d8

Sidekick: Edward Malone (Daredevil*, Marksman)
Health d8; Brawl 3d8; Shoot 4d8; Dodge 3d8; Might 2d6; Finesse 2d6; Cunning 2d6
* Once per turn you receive a +1d bonus when rolling for a Peril.

Ally: Sepoy [standing] (Fierce)
Health d6; Brawl 3d6; Shoot 1d6; Dodge 2d6; Might 1d6; Finesse 1d6; Cunning 1d6

///

ISLAND OF THE CROCODILE GOD: Animals and Natives

Vs. GERM:

Crocodile Gang (Dangerous*, Sixth-Man**)
*This gang ignores the multiple combats penalty when rolling their brawl dice.
**This gang includes 6 models instead of the usual 5.

Hippo (Animal, Fierce)
Health d6; Brawl 4d6; Shoot 0; Dodge 2d6; Might 1d6; Finesse 2d6; Cunning 1d6

2 x Gangs of Native Spearmen (Dangerous*, Sixth-Man**)
*These gangs ignore the multiple combats penalty when rolling their brawl dice.
**These gangs include 6 models instead of the usual 5.

Vs. SMUG:

Wildebeest (Animal, Agile)
Health d6; Brawl 3d6; Shoot 0; Dodge 4d6; Might 1d6; Finesse 1d6; Cunning 1d6

Bearded Dragon [big lizard] (Animal, Fierce)
Health d6; Brawl 4d6; Shoot 0; Dodge 1d6; Might 1d6; Finesse 3d6; Cunning 1d6

2 x Gangs of Native Spearmen (Dangerous*, Sixth-Man**)
*These gangs ignore the multiple combats penalty when rolling their brawl dice.
**These gangs include 6 models instead of the usual 5.


IN THE FOUR FACED TEMPLE:

GIANT COBRA (Animal, Quick-Strike*, Rampage**, Reach***, Venom****)
Health d10; Brawl 4d10; Shoot 0; Dodge 3d10; Might 3d10; Finesse 4d10; Cunning 2d8
*Once per turn, you may shift your Brawl dice-type down to gain a +2d Brawl bonus.
**The area within 3” of your base (first coil) is extremely perilous for enemy characters.
***You may use your Brawl skill to fight (attack or counter-attack) one enemy within 3”. An enemy may react by brawling, shooting, or dodging this attack.
****Any enemy that fails health checks against two or more hits from a single attack or counter-attack by the cobra suffers a hit from Venom at the start of each subsequent activation by that enemy character, and must roll a health check at that time.

///

ISLAND OF THE CROCODILE GOD: Animals and Natives


Vs. SAND:

Rhino (Animal, Relentless*)
Health d6; Brawl 3d6; Shoot 0; Dodge 3d6; Might 1d6; Finesse 1d6; Cunning 1d6
*Once per turn, when you knock an enemy down or out in a brawl, you may immediately move up to 3” towards the closest enemy. If you engage a new enemy the fight is not resolved during the same activation.

Leopard (Animal, Fierce)
Health d6; Brawl 4d6; Shoot 0; Dodge 1d6; Might 1d6; Finesse 3d6; Cunning 1d6

2 x Gangs of Native Spearmen (Dangerous*, Sixth-Man**)
*These gangs ignore the multiple combats penalty when rolling their brawl dice.
**These gangs include 6 models instead of the usual 5.


Vs. BATS:

Big Python (Animal, Big-Squeeze*)
Health d6; Brawl 3d6; Shoot 0; Dodge 1d6; Might 1d6; Finesse 3d6; Cunning 1d6
*One enemy figure that is engaged with the python is prevented from rolling for recovery while so engaged, including during the end of turn recovery check.

Lion (Animal, Fierce)
Health d6; Brawl 4d6; Shoot 0; Dodge 1d6; Might 1d6; Finesse 3d6; Cunning 1d6

2 x Gangs of Native Spearmen (Dangerous*, Sixth-Man**)
*These gangs ignore the multiple combats penalty when rolling their brawl dice.
**These gangs include 6 models instead of the usual 5.

///

ISLAND OF THE CROCODILE GOD: Animals and Natives


IN OR ON THE TALL TEMPLE:

GIANT PYTHON (Animal, Big-Squeeze*, Grappler**, Monstrous***, Muscles of Steel****)
Health d10; Brawl 4d10; Shoot 0; Dodge 3d8; Might 4d10; Finesse 3d10; Cunning 2d8
*One enemy figure that is engaged with the python is prevented from rolling for recovery while so engaged, including during the end of turn recovery check.
**Lower level enemies must pass a Might check (1 success) when brawling you. If failed the enemy can only dodge, even if they were attacking.
***Before you roll a Health check the number of hits are reduced by 1. Your dodge is shifted down one dice-type (already included above).
****Your Brawl and Might dice-type are not lowered due to injuries.


THE CROCODILE GOD:

GIGANTIC CROCODILE (Animal, Giant, Intimidating*, Muscles of Steel**, Rugged***)
Health d12; Brawl 4d12; Shoot 0; Dodge 3d8; Might 4d12; Finesse 3d8; Cunning 2d8
*Lower level enemies must roll a Cunning check (1 success) when fighting you. If failed, the enemy can only dodge, even if they were attacking.
** Your Brawl and Might dice-type are not lowered due to injuries.
*** You may re-roll 1 Health check die per fight when brawling.

[Sinewgrab]

And I am a helper!!!  Don't ask what exactly was happening - because I was trying to keep the action moving and win the game...and the two are hard to do in unison without favoritism.

[warrenpeace]

Thank you for posting the photos, Sinewgrab! Much appreciated.

By the way, Mr. Phipps sent extra "fighting dirty" cards to me and to Sinewgrab to hand out to the players. So those were distributed in both games.

[AWu]

Beautiful looking game, great terrain, My persona favorite is deadly hippo encounter

[FramFramson]

A worthy experiment! It's nice to hear some experience about where the game tops out.

Also looks great...

[CthulhuPunk]

Thanks for sharing this! Still a pulp alley newbie but this has been great inspiration, thanks!

[Sinewgrab]

A worthy experiment! It's nice to hear some experience about where the game tops out.

Also looks great...

The game was frickin' beautiful, but yeah, the game lags at 6 people.  You can do five effectively, as long as either A: the GM keeps on top of the person with initiative, or B: the people are experienced in the system enough to do that themselves.

[warrenpeace]

If people want to see the images of the playtest game taken by Eric and Kat on my facebook album, go here:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1031149056966025&set=a.1031143803633217.1073741826.100002128224580&type=3&theater